House of Genevra
The House of Genevra is an Orionese noble house of imperial stature, the third dynasty to hold the throne of the Empire of Orion, and the last sovereign Emperors of Orion. They came to power as a ducal house in the 2800s and married into the reigning House of Cauvan and the ducal House of Gillemetz. After the death of Emperor John XIII, two competing clans claimed the throne and mobilised their armies. After a war of succession in which the Terran Empire became involved, the House of Genevra was elevated to the throne after it subsumed the claims of House Gillemetz. The House of Genevra ruled from 3030 to 3275. After the dissolution of the Empire of Orion in March 3275, and subsuming of the empire into the new Republic, the House of Genevra became nobles in the Peerage of the Republic. The head of the house, holding the Imperial title, retains the honour of Emperor of Orion. The present holder is John XX. Rise The House of Genevra is descended from a legendary founder-figure "Martin of Geneva", a colonist from the first wave of Orion settlers in the 2300s. The mythical figure may be traced to a historical Martin de Lune, a Swiss preacher from the city of Geneva who was indeed among the first Orion settlement missions. The family established themselves on the world of New Geneva, along with many other Swiss settlers. Martin seems to have changed his surname to simply "Genevra" upon settling, and passed it down his family line. When the Orion colonies declared independence in the 2370s, the Genevra family fought on their side and helped make New Geneva an important world in the new Republic of Orion. However, after the communist revolution in 2531, the Genevra family was persecuted for being "class enemies" of the workers due to their large landholdings and their banking and mining interests. They colluded with anti-communist plotters and rebels and joined in the counter-revolution in 2610. A constitutional monarchy was established by plebiscite under the House of Angevre, whose inaugural rule was the dominant leader of the popular revolt. Lawrence Genevra, one of the chief fighters in the rebellion, was granted a baronial title and vast estates on New Geneva. Lawrence was later granted a ducal title and the hereditary governorship of New Geneva. The 10th Duke, George married the sister of Valens, Duke of Gille-de-Metz to secure an alliance with them in the 2990s as tensions increased between the various ducal and noble families of Orion. The family truly came to national prominence in the Orionese War of Succession. George fought on the side of the House of Gillemetz. He died in battle in 3017, leaving his teenaged son Martin in command of the family. Martin held off on further combat action while engaging in covert political action in the Terran Empire to gain support for the House of Gillemetz. After the execution of Empress Margaret, the Gillemetz claimant, in 3021, Martin secured the safe flight of her sister Princess Lenore to the Terran Empire. It is widely rumored that the two fell in love during this exile period, as Martin was forced to also flee the Orion Empire due to Henry Lao's purges of Gillemetz supporters. He returned in 3026, along with Lenore, smuggling themselves to New Geneva and holding a highly publicized wedding ceremony. Duke of Genevra * Lawrence, 1st Duke of Genevra (2588-2700), incumbent 2640-2700 ** son, Jehan, Count of Leuven * grandson, Jean-Martin, 2nd Duke of Genevra (2640-2712), incumbent 2700-2712 * daughter, Abigail, 3rd Duchess of Genevra (2670-2760), incumbent 2712-2760 * son, Lionel, 4th Duke of Genevra (2700-2800), incumbent 2760-2800 * son, John, 5th Duke of Genevra (2727-2816), incumbent 2800-2816 * son Stephen, 6th Duke of Genevra (2770-2824), incumbent 2816-2824 * daughter, Anne, 7th Duchess of Genevra (2798-2900), incumbent 2824-2900 ** son, Yves-Paul, Count of Leuven (2820-2899) * grandson, Jean-Paul, 8th Duke of Genevra (2850-2951), incumbent 2900-2951 * son, Jehan, 9th Duke of Genevra (2930-3000), incumbent 2951-3000 * son, George, 10th Duke of Genevra (2970-3017), incumbent 3000-3017 * son, Martin , 11th Duke of Genevra (3000-3063), incumbent 3017-3063 Sovereign Emperor of Orion After defeating Emperor Paul of the House of Lao, Martin and Lenore were crowned on 20 January 3030. She died in childbirth in 3044. Martin reigned alone for the rest of his life, and established the House of Genevra as the Imperial house of the Orion Empire. The last sovereign emperor, John XX, abdicated upon the abolition of the Orion Empire. He became a nobleman in peerage of the Republic. * Martin I (3000-3063), reigned 3030-3063 * son, John XIV (3031-3105), reigned 3063-3105 * son, John XV (3060-3140), reigned 3105-3140 * son, John XVI (3084-3159), reigned 3140-3159 * son, John XVII (3107-3189), reigned 3159-3189 * son, Martin II (3124-3199), reigned 3189-3199 * daughter, Lenore II (3250-3211), reigned 3199-3211 * son, John XVIII (3170-3229), reigned 3211-3220 * son, John XIX (3197-3247), reigned 3220-3247 * son, John XX (3220-), reigned 3247-3275 Peerage Emperors of Orion * John XX (3220-), incumbent 3275- ** Lenore Margaret, Duchess of Gille-de-Metz (3249)